Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
- Decided
- February 24, 1969
- Docket
- 21
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,241 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- recognizing that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate" — Littlefield v. Forney Independent School District (2001)
- holding that "First Amendment rights, applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment, are available to teachers and students" — Seamons v. Snow (1996)
- holding that the act of wearing a black armband constitutes expressive conduct and is protected by the First Amendment — Everett Perry v. Kenneth McGinnis (2000)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*504] Mr. Justice Fortas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner John F. Tinker, 15 years old, and petitioner Christopher Eckhardt, 16 years old, attended high schools in Des Moines, Iowa. Petitioner Mary Beth Tinker, John’s sister, was a 13-year-old student in junior high school.
In December 1965, a group of adults and students in Des Moines held a meeting at the Eckhardt home. The group determined to publicize their objections to the hostilities in Vietnam and their support for a truce by wearing black armbands during the holiday season and by fasting on December 16 and New Year’s Eve. Petitioners and their parents had previously engaged in similar activities, and they decided to participate in the program.
Cite this
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)Read the full opinion
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